Exciting Detroit Tigers Prospect Jokes About Social Media Calls for His Promotion

The Detroit Tigers have one of the best farm systems in baseball and the fan base appears to be itching to see at least one of them reach the Majors.

Detroit Tigers minor league outfielder Max Clark, right, gets ready for practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland on Friday, Feb. 20, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Player development in baseball is not linear. It can zig and it can zag. It can take a step forward and two steps back.

The swings can be even more pronounced when the player is coming from high school. Lately, the Detroit Tigers have invested high picks in high school talent.

Three of the Tigers’ last four first-round selections were in high school when they signed. One is pitcher Jackson Jobe, who was selected No. 3 overall in 2021 out of Heritage Hall High School in Oklahoma City. He’s progressed to the point where is now a member of the Tigers’ starting rotation.

The other two are probably well off from the Majors. Outfielder Max Clark was taken No. 3 overall in 2023 out of Franklin Community High School in Franklin, Ind. Last year, the Tigers selected shortstop Bryce Rainer from Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles.

All three are highly regarded prospects and three of the reasons why the Tigers’ farm system is so well respected. Entering the season MLB Pipeline ranks Jobe at No. 5, Clark at No. 6 and Rainer at No. 52 among baseball’s Top 100 prospects.

Jobe’s rise, however, may be spoiling the fan base. The pitcher made his MLB debut late last year, reaching the Majors just three years after being drafted. Not every player climbs the ladder that fast.

Lately, Clark has had to remind fans of that on social media.

The Athletic’s Cody Stavehagen was asked about Clark by a user on X (formerly Twitter). The fan asked Stavehagen about Clark, saying that Clark could “…play 148 games starting Friday without them losing team control.”

Technically that’s accurate. But that doesn’t consider that Clark, who is 20 years old, probably isn’t Major League ready yet.

In fact, he knows it as he told Stavehagen earlier this season.

“Every time I open my X, it’s like, ‘Hey, when are you getting called up?’” Clark said. “It’s like, ‘I have literally played 34 games in High A. Probably not for a little bit.’”

Clark did play in eight spring training games for the Tigers, as he slashed .273/.308/.364 with no home runs and three RBI.

He’s played in 130 minor leagues games, 107 of which were last year at Class-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan. Combined he slashed .279/.372/.421 with nine home runs and 75 RBI. He also stole 29 bases. MLB Pipeline projects Clark as a 2027 call-up.

At least one Tigers fan couldn’t mind if it happened a bit sooner.